Ingenue, legends for tribute project
Hit team reunites
Amitabh Bachchan and director Balki are set to team up again. Balki has cast Bachchan, Dhanush and Kamalhassan’s daughter Akshara, who makes her debut, in the movie titled Shamitabh.
According to Balki, the movie, which is a tribute to the legend Bachchan has been, features Dhanush as a deaf character. The legendary actor has worked with Balki in hit movies such as Cheeni Kum and Paa.
Box-office boxing
Producer Karan Johar and director Karan Malhotra are also set to team up again.
Malhotra has confirmed that he has signed Akshay Kumar and Sidharth Malhotra for the roles of boxing rivals in a movie inspired by the 2011 Hollywood flick Warrior that featured Tom Hardy and Joel Edgerton.
Brit roped in for Raj
British stage and TV actress Lauren J Irwin plays an important role in KS Ravikumar’s Rajinikanth movie, Lingaa.
The film, it has been revealed, features some scenes set in preindependence India and Irwin will appear in them.
Last week, American actor, writer, director and producer William Orendorff was signed to play an important role in Lingaa. Orendorff’s Hollywood credits include Proper Villains, The Notice and 2 White Kids with Problems.
Shankar signs star
Unconfirmed reports from Kodambakkam say that Rajinikanth has signed on the dotted line to play the lead role in director Shankar’s next film. Shankar is currently completing postproduction work on Vikram’s Ai.
New string to bow
Composer turned actor Vijay Milton is working on the sequel to his highly successful film Naan.
Aksha Pardanay plays the female lead opposite Vijay Anthony, who also scores the music. The film is directed by NV Nirmal Kumar, a former assistant to Bharathiraja.
Anjaan on the way
The trailer for Surya’s Anjaan will be released later this week. An announcement about the date and time of the launch will be made this evening.
This action thriller, produced by UTV Motion Pictures, is one of the most eagerly awaited films of the year. Surya and Samantha Ruth Prabhu head the cast. It is directed by Lingusamy and the music is by Yuvanshanker Raja.
Change of tune
A fortnight ago it was announced that AR Rahman would score the music for Ajithkumar’s 58th film, but last week it was announced that Devi Shri Prasad had been confirmed as the composer. It is directed by Chimbudevan and stars Hansika Motwani, Sruthi Hassan and Sudeep.
The slow movement
Vasanthabalan’s Kaaviya Thalaivan has been many months in the making and is not yet ready for release. An unnamed source said Rahman was the main reason for the delay. The Oscar winner has taken months to compose the songs, releasing one song at a time, and now the delay is in the composition of the background score. Rahman has yet to respond to this report. — Shalandra Bunseelal and Dedan Nair